Tong



Feh, 22, 1938. c. E. OLSEN ET AL 2,108,971

' TONG Filed May'l5, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheec 1 l l l l a, I l I I 45.

l I I 12 ""1 Gar! E. Olsen I ATTORNEY.

Feb 22, 1938. Q E. OLSEN ET AL 2,1@3,971

TONG

Filed May 15, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1.. umigaum 28 fiw l flisen Jweph A.Peterson INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 22, 1 938 uni-T ED sfr T ES TONG- I Carl E. OlsenandJosephAi Peterson, Houston, Tex.

Application -May' 15,".

2 Claims.

sections of pipe to the upperend oi the drill stem.

It is frequently necessary to-Withdraw the drill stem fromthe well andwhen the drill stem is withdrawn the sections of thepipe aredisconnected as they are elevatedi-above the derrick floor. Varioustongs have. heretoforebeen devised .for connectingthe sections of pipetogether as the. drillstemis'. lowered into the earth, and also fordisconnecting the sections of'fpipe as the drill stem is withdrawn fromthe earth; and

s these tongs are generally known as make-up and break-on tongs.

In the pastithas been the general practice to allow the driller torotate one pipe section with respect to the other at any speed which tohim appearedproper. Somedrillers employ excessive speeds, and this hasresulted in burning the threads, thereby causing-trouble well known tothose skilled in the art.

One of the main objects of this invention'is to provide a tong embodyingmeans to cause it to automatically release the pipe when the drillerallows the pipe to be rotated at a speed greater than that at which thepipe may be rotated without injuring the threads, and to automaticallyre-grip the pipe when the speed of rotation is lowered the properamount.

Conventional make-up and break-cu equipment includes a rotary usedduring drilling operations to rotate the drill and Which'during torotate that portion of the drill stem below the uppermost section; slipsto hold the drill stem against downward vertical movement in the rotary;a tong substantially stationarily supported by the derrick; and anothertong carried by the rotary so that whenthe rotary isrotated one tongserves to hold the uppermost section of the pipe stationary, and theother tong serves to rotate the. lower section with the rotary, the,rotationtof thesections with respect to each other aiiecting either theengagement or disengagement of thethreaded ends thereof.

If the pipe should move downwardly more than a predetermined distancewith respect to the tong supportingmeans, damage results either to .the

make-up and. break-out operations is used tong and its supporter both.Another important object of this inventionis theprovision of safetymeans in the tong construction so that no damage is suffered by thetongsor associated driving means when there is excessive verticalmovement of the pipe with respect to the tong due to the failure of theslips or other causes- Trouble has also been experienced with presenttools inthatthey are not adaptable to alltypes of rotaries and generalconditions found in the oilfield. The present tools are also foundlacking in conveniences and safety devices. This invention has as anadded object, the provision of means tosupply the need therefor.

In the drawings Fig. 1 isa fragmentary elevation showing the preferredembodiment of the invention applied to the conventional drill stem androtary; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation similar to Fig. 1, withcertain parts in section, and showing amodified form of the tongsupporting means; Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3. of Fig. 2;Fig. 4 isa section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5' is a sectionalong the line 5--5of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is similar to Fig. 5 with someparts ofthe tongs in section; Fig. '7 is a section of the stop meansused in yieldably holding the tong whenswungaway from the pipe; Fig. 8is a sectionof the pin placed in the endof the tong handle to preventthe same from passing through the head unless such is desired; and Fig.9 is,

aview showing how the toggle linkage is joined to the wrench body.

InFig. 1 the pipe is indicated at I having an upper section laanda lowersection lb. Slips are indicated'at 2 supporting the pipes in the rotary3. The telescopic post 4 has an inner section 5 .andan outer section 6,the inner section 5 being-carricdby the adapter 1. The adapter I isjoined to the inner section .5 by means of the pin 8, and fits in thehole f the rotary 3; It is preventedfromrotating by the arm Hi. The pinin the outer section 6 extends into the groove l2 of the innersectionand allows vertical movement of the outer section with respect to theinner section; but not rotational movement. The upper endof the outersection 6 terminates in the cap l3 which is .weldedthereto at I4. Theouter section 6 is supported by the spring |5.Whl0hf bears against thecap l3, and the inner section 5. Mounted on the cap I3 by means of ballsIt is a rotatable head having two sections, Ha and ill) beingpivotallyconnected'together'atl8. The balls 161 are inserted through thehole' l9;such hole being sealed by the screw plug 20. The upper section l'la hason its under side a shoulder handle to become indented along its length.The' rollers 26 and 2'! (see Fig. 4) are rotatively and removably heldin place on screw pins 28. The rollers 2'! being square present fourseparate wearing surfaces, thereby seldom, if ever, needing.

replacement. The rollers .26 normally do not touch the handle and becomeactive only when the wrench is picked up on its inner end to be moved inor out of the head I'Ia.

To permit separation of the gripping means 29 from the handle 25 in theevent of excessive downward movement of the pipe I because of thefailure of the slips 2, orfor any other cause, the invention providesshearing means which will now be described. The gripping means includesan actuator member 46 which is made in theform of a yoke having arms 35and 3'I'for the reception of the inner end of the handle 25 (Fig. 5).The inner end of the handle 25 has a downwardly opening slot 3| (Fig.2)for thereception of the square bushing 43 on permanent pin 42, which pin42 extends through and is connected to the arms 38 and 31 of the yoke ofactuator 46. Extending above the parts just referred to and connectingthe arms 35 and 31 of the yoke is a frangible pin 4i, and thevhandle 25is provided with upwardly extending lugs 32 and 33 having holes 34 and35 through which said pin 4| extends to normally hold the handle 25 inalignmentwith the actuator 45.

The lower holes 45 receive the frangible pin 4| when the pipe grippingmeans 29- is inverted with respect to the handle 25. This permitsuniversal use of both the handle and the pipe gripping means. j y

The permanent pin 42 serves to transmit all tortional loads from .thehandle 25 to the gripping means 29.

If. the pipe I should drop down an excessive distance with respect tothe rotary 3 the shear pin ii first fails. This allows the permanent pin42, and its square bushing 43, to slip out of the slot 3!, thuspermitting separation of pipe gripping means 29 from the handle 25 andpreventing damage that would otherwise occur.

The pipe-gripping means illustrated in Figs. 5

and 6 has a main body or jaw portion 44. Pivoted I to this body, at 45is the actuating member 46 having connected to it at 41 a chain' 48which passes around the pipe I and back-to the body. The chain 48 isconnected to the handle 49 of the toggle linkage by the short link 5!(Fig.5)

To separate the tong or gripping means from the pipe the handle. 49 'ofthe toggle linkage is first pulled away from the head. This allows theend 55 (see Fig. 9)' of thehandle 49 to be lifted from the U-shaped cup50, thus freeing the tong from the'pipe. I

As illustrated in Figs. 5and 6, a force F (when the rotary is rotated)would be applied. to the wrench handle by the head Ila in a clockwisedirection. This causes rotation of the actuator member 46 aboutthe pin.45. This results in a tightening of chain 48 about the pipe I, forcingthe jaws 5| firmly against the pipe. The rotation of the actuator member45 about the pin 45 is yieldably resisted by the coil spring 52 actingagainst the pin 53. The pin 53 is connected to the body 44 through theside plates 54.

When the speed of rotation of the handle 25 in the direction of theforce F becomes great enough, centrifugal force begins to act on thehandle in such a way that it is shifted'from the solid line position(see Fig. 6) to .the dotted line position. This moves the pin 4! in sucha direction as to loosen the chain 48 from around the pipe thus allowingautomatically the jaws 5| to become disengaged from the pipe I.

' Because of centrifugal force effecting the engagement of the jaws, itis impossible for the driller to rotate the pi'pe above the speed wherethe way, it is yieldably held until needed further."

In Figs. 1, Zand Sisillus'trated a pin stop 64 placed in the endo f thehandle 25 to prevent inadvertent inward movement of said handle throughthe head Ila. When it is desired to remove the handle inwardly from thehead the pin 64 may be pressed inwardly against its spring to permitsuch movement. r

In Fig. 2 a shear pin 58 is shown in place of the spring I5 shown inFig.1. Shouldv there be excessive downward movement of the pipe I withrespect to the rotary table 3 due to the failure of the slips 2, or forany other reason, the

shear pin 58 would first yield, allowing the outer' frangible pin 4|wouldbe broken allowing the pipe' gripping means 25 to become separatedfrom the handle 25, thus preventing damage to either the post or tong.

In Fig. l a construction is illustrated in which lubrication is neededfor the telescopic sections. Grease is applied through the cup 6! to thespace 62. The grease passes up, through the hole 63 and over the cap I3to lubricate the balls I6. The grease enclosed also serves as a cushionfor the outer section 6 when moved suddenly downward with respect to theinner section 5.

In the use of the invention the sections-oi pipe Ia and lb are to bejoined or separated. Fig. 1 shows the apparatus so arranged as to beused to separate the two sections. The upper section la. is heldstationary by the tong 59 which hasits handle tied to a corner of thederrick (not shown) by the rope or cable- 60. The lower section Ib isthen rotated by revolving the table 3, (by means of conventionalmachinery not shown), which supports the lower section to and all of thesections joined 'on'belowit, by means of the slips 2. The rotarymovement of the rotary 3 is imparted to the lower section I I) throughthe post'4, handle 25 and pipegripping means 29. When the separation hasbeen completed the tongs are loosened and swung out of the way.The'upper' section Ia.is thenplaced over to one side of the derrick'andthe lower section I5 is elevated by suitable means (not shown) until thethreaded connection at its lower end (not shown) comes into position.This operation is repeated until all of the pipe sections are out of thehole.

It will be apparent that when the pipe sections are to be replaced inthe hole that the operations are repeated but in reverse order, thetongs being turned thru degrees.

It can readily be seen that a driller with little judgment might ruin anentire string of pipe while removing it from or inserting it in the wellby simply rotating too fast; and as the pipe goes in and out of the holemany times during the drilling of a well, the danger of injuring thepipe is continuously existent.

It frequently happens that slips 2, because of improper use, fail tosupport the pipe while the entire apparatus is joined together asillustrated in Fig. 2. If such happened and no safety means wereprovided, damage would result to the tong, post or both. This wouldcause unnecessary expense in replacing the same, whereas the simpleshearing means used in this invention prevents such damage and is veryinexpensive to replace.

Although this invention has been illustrated and described in connectionwith a preferred embodiment, modifications within the true spirit andscope of the same are intended to be covered in the hereto appendedclaims.

It will be understood that the invention may be used with Well casingsand tubings as well as with drill pipe. 'As a matter of fact, it will befound particularly useful in preventing burning of the threads of easingsections by preventing an excessive relative speed of rotation thereof.

We claim:

1. A tong comprising a gripping element and a handle, a relativelystrong connecting element between said gripping element and said handlefor transmitting operating force in one plane from said handle to saidgripping element, and relatively frangible connecting means between saidgripping element and handle for normally preventing relative verticalmovement of said gripping element and handle, said last means beingfrangible to permit relative vertical movement of said gripping elementand handle when predetermined vertical forces are applied tending tomove said gripping element and handle relative to each other.

2. A tong comprising a gripping element and a handle, a relativelystrong connecting element between said gripping element and said handlefor transmitting operating force in one plane from said handle to saidgripping element, and relatively frangible connecting means between saidgripping element and said handle for normally preventing relativemovement of said gripping element and said handle in a different planefrom said first mentioned plane, said last means being frangible topermit relative movement of said gripping element and handle in saiddiiferent plane when predetermined forces are applied tending to movesaid gripping element and handle relative to each other in saiddifierent plane.

CARL E. OLSEN. JOSEPH A. PETERSON.

